The most crucial development of counterpoint started in Resistance art. In medieval composers and painters had something in common. Both groups use this technique to add a different layer to make their work more interesting. For instance, in medieval ‘painters portrayed different landscape levels whereas composers dealt with different voices in motet’(Johann Joseph Fux and Mann, 1971).
The term discantus refers to the two-fold melody or more than two parts. This word was a first name for the term of counterpoint. So, what do we mean by a counterpoint?
Before our modern notes appeared, composers used dots or points to write their music where a point was set against a point. Even though our music notation has changed, this is still applied. When we think about a counterpoint, we think about composition. We might think that as a composer we can freely spread ingredients to piece of music. Instead, when we hear the term counterpoint, we need to think about a composition written strictly to the technical rulers.
There is a unique method for studying counterpoint. It was invented by Johann Joseph Fux, author of the theoretical work Gradus ad Parnassum. The study of counterpoint compromises several species. It is a way to learn to construct and combine simple melodic lines. This method has a set of rulers and involves a series of experiments. The whole study involves learning about five species of counterpoint. For me, it is like writing a sentence without grammar errors. We must construct and combine melodies accordingly to the rulers to create a correct and smooth sentence.
We begin the first species counterpoint with a cantus firmus, a pre-existing melody used as a basis for polyphonic composition. Then we have to compose a counterpoint – a single new line below or above a given cantus firmus. The cantus firmus is written in whole notes, and a counterpoint in the new line (first species) should be the same.
In terms of basic rulers, I found it extremely useful to create a spreadsheet of the rulers to explain them (you can download it for free below). It helped me to learn them faster, so I hope you will find them too!
This was and still is a crucial music compositional training for all composers. Composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Braham, Haydn and so on have been taught this method. This is like grammar and a solid foundation for our classical music, and without knowing its roots, composers would not be able to push their music further.
The ability to understand complex is to know the simple patterns first. Before our famous past composers broke any rulers, they had to know them first. In my next post, I will go through the first species counterpoint task and demonstrate how to apply these rules in practice!
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